A United States National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) senior official has spoken of the aerial threat to critical infrastructure that has been made easier by the proliferation of commercially available uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). Acting Principal Deputy Administrator Corey Hinderstein was speaking at the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement Counter-UAS Summit in Arlington, Virginia on August 28.
Hinderstein said the nuclear security enterprise must consider the “third dimension of security”. “Whether by overflight from airplanes, balloons, or satellites orbiting the earth, surveillance of our top-secret sites from the air has been a persistent concern. “No amount of signage or canine patrols along perimeter fences can prevent this type of surveillance.”
Threats to nuclear research facilities posed by UAS are “more evolutionary than revolutionary” Hinderstein said, while adding that the purchase, capabilities, and payload capacity of UAS have become more prolific, and that the deployment of many different types of UAS and payloads during current overseas conflicts could a blueprint for domestic activities in the United States.
She also cautioned that the size of the US nuclear security enterprise’s geographical and physical footprint creates unique vulnerabilities. “The Nevada National Security Site outside of Las Vegas alone is roughly 680 square miles – about half the size of Rhode Island. That’s a large area to monitor, and we take the problem posed by UAS very seriously.
“This is not a hypothetical issue for us. Over three days last October, there were five UAS sightings at the southern border of our Nevada site. Four were detected by a counter-UAS platform that was actually still in the research and testing phase, the fifth was spotted by an employee. They appeared to have been launched from a nearby highway, though law enforcement was not able to determine the origins. We are awake to the challenge, and have been taking concrete steps.”
NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Security currently employs a Counter-UAS (C-UAS) device at four of its eight sites and is upgrading the platforms’ hardware, software, and system library, which will extend the system’s life, add camera and radar capability, and enhance C-UAS capability and protection, Hinderstein told the Summit.
“Looking forward, NNSA is transitioning to a next-generation C-UAS that will employ an open-architecture, systems-based approach to address the evolving threat of uncrewed aircraft systems present to NNSA facilities and personnel. We are seeking integrated tools to provide operators with the information they need to make real-time command and control decisions, plan missions, and deploy assets on a single screen.
“Additionally, the next-generation approach to countering UAS must be extensible, flexible, and adaptive, as well as scalable to hundreds of nodes. Open architecture provides the data integration of open and proprietary sensors to allow NNSA to select the best mitigation capabilities: radio frequency, directed energy, kinetic, and radar. By combining these approaches, NNSA doesn’t rely on a single capability. We can also be more nimble in incorporating advanced technology. This flexibility will allow security planners to customise systems for each lab, plant, and site, based on unique local conditions.”
Hinderstein said that, starting next fiscal year, NNSA will also finalise the development of a permanent facility at the Idaho National Laboratory for C-UAS testing and evaluation. “The effort will help security planners identify possible next-generation solutions, outline continuous testing requirements, and bolster the current system, which is nearing the end of its service life.”
NNSA partners with other agencies and departments – such as the Department of Defense as well as academia and the private sector – to explore new C-UAS approaches and share research.
“US Navy Strategic Systems Programs recently accompanied NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Security to a vendor demonstration of a C-UAS with kinetic capability,” Hinderstein said, citing an example of collaboration. “If the system is eventually procured, it will provide both agencies with the ability to not only detect unauthorised UAS, but also the means to interdict the target and mitigate any threat.”
She added that the NNSA and other stakeholders are also combining legislative efforts to pursue common legal authorities to counter the threat from uncrewed systems. NNSA also collaborates with international partners. Hinderstein said that in fiscal year 2024 alone, NNSA conducted 13 technical exchanges on C-UAS across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa, and has collaborated with partners in Europe on four further C-UAS projects.
“One specific example of how this collaboration is bearing is our work with Ukraine. We and experts at Sandia National Laboratories are in the process of testing a kinetic C-UAS that may help Ukrainian counterparts provide additional protection at nuclear power plants, while also analysing domestic experience in hardening nuclear power plants which may have broader application for other critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine. Having completed an initial phase of testing against high-speed drone targets, it was determined that planned testing against larger platforms was no longer needed.
“Another project under development is a Drone Protection Barrier, which has a potential application in hardening response bunkers and other strategic structures to reduce the impact drone-delivered explosives. The team conducted testing of this barrier in August at Idaho National Laboratory.
“We have also funded additional support of the High-Altitude Detection of UAS. The goal of this project is to take the previously developed technology and apply it to detection and tracking of potential threat of UAS near nuclear facilities. Using video imaging systems from commercial satellites or high-altitude UAS, it can detect, localise, and track objects moving towards facilities or locations. The commercial satellite contracts have been successfully put into place. Materials have been purchased and delivered, and building the full systems are in progress. Algorithm and processing work is continuing to progress for upcoming testing.”
In January, the US Department of Energy issued “A Request for Information: Data Standards, Interfaces and Command and Control Capabilities for the Next-Generation Counter Uncrewed Aircraft System (cUAS) Enterprise for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).” The Department said the RFI was the first step in an anticipated large-scale multi-stage acquisition to establish the next-generation, long-term C-UAS enterprise at multiple high security sites.
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Image: NNSA Acting Principal Deputy Administrator Corey Hinderstein addresses the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement’s Counter-UAS Summit, August 28, 2024.
